“Vatican cops bust drug-fueled gay orgy at home of cardinal’s aide” – this was the headline of the NY Post story. A number of mainstream media covered the story, though not the major ones like the Times or Washington Post. Nor did Religion News Service (RNS), the main source of religious news, cover the story. None of the Catholic press covered the story, including either the august NCR or the upstart CRUX. The only reason this news was released to the American public is that the Italian press covered the story, and foreign correspondents in Italy picked it up. You see, Christians are supposed to spread the gospel, the Good News. Not this kind of nasty stuff. This is heresy, so they suppress it. But even apart from the sensational aspects, the story contains much of importance.

For one thing, this was not some degenerate crack house. This was the very apartment that Cardinal Ratzinger lived in for years before he became Pope Benedict. It belonged to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) – formerly known as the Office of the Inquisition – generally considered the most important department of the Vatican. And these drug-fueled orgyists were well thought of – the ringleader was about to be promoted.

Over 30 years ago, Pope John Paul II gave the CDF primary responsibility for dealing with the Church’s pederasty scandals. During that time, the Vatican and the CDF were better known for protecting pederasts (like Father Maciel) than prosecuting them. Did John Paul put the fox in charge of the henhouse? I can’t think of any organization that is as tolerant of child rapists as the Catholic Church. You can be sure that the archetype of immorality, the Mafia, would have taken care of the problem long ago. For nearly 2000 years, the Catholic Church has touted its lofty moral principles and divine guidance. During much of that time, it was perhaps the most corrupt state in existence. Today, it can take lessons in morality from the Mafia. Yet the media and much of the public treat it better than the Hindus treat sacred cows.